Spanish Present Perfect Subjunctive – Learn and Practice

Welcome 😊 to our grammar lesson on the Present Perfect Subjunctive in Spanish (“Pretérito Perfecto del Subjuntivo”).

We use this tense in certain types of sentences that express subjectivity: doubt, emotion, value judgements… usually about recent past actions.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to conjugate verbs in Present Perfect Subjunctive and use them in sentences.

You will also find a Quiz and Exercises to practice.

Conjugation of verbs in Present Perfect Subjunctive

The formula to form the Present Perfect Subjunctive consists of 2 words:

• First, the verb haber in Present Subjunctive: haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan.
• Second, the Past Participle of the verb expressing the action. The Past Participle is the same for all persons.

Using that formula, here are some verbs conjugated in Present Perfect Subjunctive. These particular verbs have a regular Past Participle:

	jugar to play	beber to drink	sentir to feel
yo	haya jugado	haya bebido	haya sentido
tú	hayas jugado	hayas bebido	hayas sentido
él	haya jugado	haya bebido	haya sentido
nosotros	hayamos jugado	hayamos bebido	hayamos sentido
vosotros	hayáis jugado	hayáis bebido	hayáis sentido
ellos	hayan jugado	hayan bebido	hayan sentido

And here a couple more verbs conjugated in Present Perfect Subjunctive. These are verbs with an irregular Past Participle:

	hacer to do	ver to see
yo	haya hecho	haya visto
tú	hayas hecho	hayas visto
él	haya hecho	haya visto
nosotros	hayamos hecho	hayamos visto
vosotros	hayáis hecho	hayáis visto
ellos	hayan hecho	hayan visto

Remember…

The Past Participle of regular verbs in -ar ends in -ado.
The Past Participle of regular verbs in -er and -ir ends in -ido.

Some verbs have an irregular Past Participle. The most important irregular ones are:

hacer → hecho
decir → dicho
ver → visto
escribir → escrito
romper → roto
poner → puesto
volver → vuelto
resolver → resuelto
satisfacer → satisfecho
descubrir → descubierto
morir → muerto

Click here to learn more about the Past Participle

Uses of the Present Perfect Subjunctive

We use the Present Perfect Subjunctive in certain types of sentences that express subjectivity: doubt, emotion, value judgements… usually about recent past actions.

Here are the most frequent types of sentences where we use it:

a) After many verbs in Present Tense that express subjectivity (gustar, interesar, sorprender, preocupar, molestar, dar miedo, querer, esperar, desear, preferir…) followed by “que”, if the subjectivity is about a recent past action:

Espero que Ana haya aprobado el examen.
I hope Ana passed the exam.

Deseo que lo hayáis pasado bien.
I wish you guys had a good time.

No me gusta que hayas dicho eso.
I don’t like that you said that.

Nos sorprende que las plantas hayan crecido tan rápido.
We are surprised that the plants have grown so fast.

b) After these expressions of disbelief or doubt in Present Tense…

• no creer que (only when “no” is before “creer”)
• no pensar que (only when “no” is before “pensar”)
• dudar que

… if we are talking about a recent past action:

El director no cree que eso haya ocurrido.
The director doesn’t think that happened.

Dudo que hayan comprado el coche.
I doubt they bought the car.

c) After “ojalá” or “ojalá que”, if we express a realistic wish about a recent past action:

Ojalá su equipo haya ganado el partido.
Hopefully his team won the game.

d) After these phrases when we express a degree of probability about something in the recent past:

• posiblemente
• probablemente
• tal vez
• quizás
• puede que
• es posible que
• es probable que

Quizás haya ido a la playa.
Maybe he went to the beach.

Es posible que ellos hayan llamado.
They may have called.

e) After expressions with this structure: [es + adjective + que…], if we refer to something in the recent past:

Es bueno que vosotros hayáis dicho la verdad.
It’s good that you guys have told the truth.

Es importante que hayamos descubierto la verdad.
It’s important that we have discovered the truth.

f) For an action that is expected to have occurred at some point in the future, introduced by “cuando”:

Llámame cuando hayas llegado al hotel.
Call me when you’ve arrived at the hotel.

Cuando hayáis terminado el libro, lo comentaremos.
When you guys have finished the book, we’ll discuss it.

g) For an action that is expected to have occurred at some point in the future, introduced by “hasta que”:

No pagaré el ordenador hasta que lo haya probado.
I won’t pay for the computer until I have tried it.

h) For a condition (introduced by “siempre que, a condición de que, siempre y cuando”) that must have happened in order for something else to happen.

Podéis ir a la fiesta siempre que hayáis comprado la entrada.
You guys can go to the party as long as you have bought a ticket.

Puedes conducir siempre y cuando no hayas bebido.
You can drive as long as you haven’t drunk.

i) For a hypothetical obstacle in the recent past (introduced by “salvo que, a no ser que”), that may cause something not to happen.

Cocinaré carne, a no ser que hayan traído pescado.
I’ll cook meat, unless they brought fish.

j) For a hypothetical obstacle in the recent past (introduced by “aunque, a pesar de que”), despite which something else happens or will happen.

Aunque no hayas estudiado, vas a aprobar.
Even if you have not studied, you will pass.

k) For the desired qualities of something or someone, specifically about their past, introduced by “que, donde, quien”.

Busco un piso que haya sido reformado.
I am looking for an apartment that has been renovated.

Queremos un perro que ya haya recibido todas las vacunas.
We want a dog that has already received all the vaccinations.

Practice

Quiz

Take this short Quiz about the Present Perfect Subjunctive:

Exercise 1

Conjugate the following verbs in Present Perfect Subjunctive for the given person. Click on the gray spaces to see the solutions:

1) yo haya trabajado (trabajar)
2) tú hayas comprendido (comprender)
3) él haya pensado (pensar)
4) nosotros hayamos sentido (sentir)
5) vosotros hayáis repetido (repetir)
6) ellos hayan contado (contar)
7) yo haya dormido (dormir)
8) tú hayas hecho (hacer)
9) él haya roto (romper)
10) nosotros hayamos visto (ver)
11) vosotros hayáis vuelto (volver)
12) ellos hayan descubierto (descubrir)

Exercise 2

Fill the gaps conjugating the verbs in brackets in Present Perfect Subjunctive:

1) Dudo que el político haya dicho la verdad en su discurso. (decir)
I doubt the politician has told the truth in his speech.

2) Tal vez ellos hayan abierto la ventana. (abrir)
Maybe they opened the window.

3) Espero que María haya encontrado a su gato. (encontrar)
I hope María found her cat.

4) ¿No te gusta que nosotros hayamos venido? (venir)
Don’t you like that we came?

5) Buscamos un arquitecto que haya construido edificios grandes. (construir)
We are looking for an architect who has built large buildings.

6) Siempre y cuando hayas pagado, recibirás el producto hoy. (pagar)
As long as you have paid, you will receive the product today.